Hair holding device



Feb. 5, 1963 N. SOLOMON 3,075,465.

HAIR HOLDING DEVICE Filed April 2, 1959 W nn-r 11'-mun-Ill"mill-1|mnn-mmun$"""" INVENTOR. A/flfHA/V L S L 3,076,465Patented Feb. 5, 1953 ice 3,076,465 HAIR HOLDING DEVICE Nathan L.Solomon 343 Highview Road, Englewood, NJ.

Filed Apr. 2, 1959, Ser. No. 803,757 r 3 Claims. (Cl. 132-66) Thepresent invention relates to improvements in hair retaining devices andmore particularly relates to a hair holding device for confining loosehair and retaining curls in their set position.

In forming curls and in setting the hair in the form of Waves, it iscustomary to set a portion of the hair in the shape of the curl desiredWhich is then set by holding the curl in position and shape overnight orby application of permanent waving solutions and holding the hair inposition until set. Conventional devices for holding the hair or curl inposition are subject to a number of well known difliculties anddisadvantages which have prompted many proposals to remedy them.Probably the most widely used holding device is the ordinary bobby pin.Since the formation of the curl or positioning the hair to be heldrequires the use of one hand, the bobby pin requires extreme manualdexterity in separating the prongs of the bobby pin with one hand forself-application. Care must be exercised in inserting the bobbyfpin intothe hair of the user because the flat, narrow prongs may dig into ascrape the scalp. In addition, its snap-spring tension largelyconcentrates the pressure at a localized point, and also the narrow,overlapping form of its holding prongs tends to mar the appearance ofthe resulting wave when the curl is brushed out. Further, theconstruction of a hobby pin makes it difficult to remove from the hairwithout catching strands of haid and thereby damaging the. individualstrands of hair, or even pulling out and breaking the individualstrands.

There have been attempts to provide a more satisfactory haid holdingdevice but these have not conveniently remedied the disadvantagesdiscussed above. Many of the proposed hair retaining devices haveallowed easy introduction into the hair mass but they could not maintainthemselves where placed for anylength of time and were oftendisplacedaccidentally. Other types of hair retaining devices use hingedconstruction or pivoting members for clamping the hair between thepivoting members. While the type of hair retaining device is easy toapply and is securely retained in the hair mass, it is relativelyexpensive to produce and often catches the hair in the pivotingmechanism, causing discomfort to the user upon removal of the hairretaining device. Also, the overlapping alignment of the membersinterferred with the proper drying of the moistened hair.

With the wide .use today of home permanents and the self-application ofwave setting solutions, it is desirable that a hair retaining device beresistant to the chemicals in the solutions. Due to the resiliencyrequired inoperation of a hair retaining device, as well as thedurability in long use, a spring metal construction is preferred. To usesuch a steel with the corrosive tendencies of these wave solutionsrequires coating the metal with a protective layer, hence making anyconstruction which has sliding or rotating hinge elements not preferredfor use with these hair waving solutions.

Accordingly, a need exists for a light weight, durable, inexpensive hairholding device which is easy to apply to the hair mass and will maintainitself from accidental disengagement therefrom and can be used with hairwave setting solutions, and yet cause no discomfort to the wearer.

Therefore it is an object of the present invention to provided a hairholding device that is easy to apply and holds the hair securely inposition, yet will not be accidentally displaced.

' member .the head of the user.

' It is another object of the present invention to provide a hairholding device having hair holding members which distribute theretaining pressure over a relatively wide area, avoiding anyconcentrated pressure points for damaging or breaking individual hairstrands.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a hair holdingdevice that is easily applied with one hand of the user and Will not bedisplaced accidentally from the hair.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a hairholding device that has no sharp tips or edges for possible scratchingor damaging the scalp of the user.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a hair retainingdevice that acomplishes all of the above and yet is light Weight,durable, inexpensive to fabricate, allows moisture in the hair toevaporate, is easy to package and is reliable in use.

Other objects and features of the invention will be apparent when thefollowing description is considered in connection with the annexeddrawings in which- FIG. 1 is a plan'view showing a hair holding devicein accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view showing the concave, curved bottommember and the downwardly extending tip thereof.

FIG. 3 is a bottom View of the present invention, and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

For hair holding devices of this general type it is desirable that theybe light and made from an inexpensive, resilient material such as springsteel. While spring steel offers the most favorable combination ofcharacteristics for a hair holding device of this type, other materialsmay be used such as plastic, copper, aluminum, etc.

Referring now to the drawings, a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention shows a hair holding device 10 having a base or lower member11 and an upper holding member 13 integrally united at one end 14 inspring tensioned relationship. Base member 11 is formed of two arms 16and 17, joined at the free end of base member 11 to form a closed tip19, preferably rounded as shown. Arms 16 and 17 of base member 11 arepreferably spaced apart intermediate of tip 19 and closed end 14, andare undulated or corrugated in shape for aiding in the prevention ofaccidental dislodgement.

integrally, united with base 11 at end 14 and in superposed relationtherewith is an upper member 13. Upper 13 has a pair of arms 21 and 22enclosinga generally flattened ellipsoidal area and having a smoothlyrounded free end 23. Arms 21 and 22 are spaced outwardly from arms 16and 17 respectively, so that arms 16 and 17 are aligned with theellipsoidal area. The free end 23 of upper arm 13 is advantageously bentslightly upward to aid in receiving the strands of hair to be held bythe hair holding device disclosed and described herein.

Base member 11 is curved to follow the contour of Preferably, this curveof base member 11 should be such that the upper portion 20 of thecurvature of arms 16 and 17 of base member 11 passes through and extendsslightly above the plane in which arms 21 and '22 of upper member 13lie, as shown best in FIG. 2. Tip 19 of base member 11 extendsdownwardly in a direction opposite to free end 23 of upper member 13 forproviding a hair receiving opening between upper member 13 and lowermember 11 of the hair holding device. Advantageously, the curvature andconstruction of base member 11 is such that arms 16 and 17 do not comein contact With upper member 13, as seen in FIG. 4, eliminating anypoints of stress concentration. In operation, the strands of hair to becollected and retained are held in one hand and arms 21 and 22 of uppermember 13 are firmly grasped between the thumb and forefinger of theother hand, with tips 19 and 23 facing the hair to be held. By pressingdown on the upper portion 20 of arms 16 and 17 with the index finger,base member 11 is forced downwardly to the position indicated by thedashed lines in FIG. 2, thus separating members 11 and 13. Hair holdingdevice is then slid into place with the hair to be held being easilyreceived between upwardly curved tip 23 and downwardly curved tip 19,and the hair is then slipped into position between base member 11 andupper member 13-. Upon releasing the pressure exerted on portion 20 ofbase member 11, member 11 springs back to its original position due tothe resiliency inherent in its construction. Due to the offsetrelationship between arms 16 and 17 of base member 11 and arms 21 and22, respectively, of upper member 13, an even pressure is exerted on thehair to be held thereby avoiding any concentrated pressure points andthus eliminating any damage to the individual strands of hair. Ifdesired, the hair holding device can be guided into position by slidingrounded tip 19 along the scalp of the user without danger of harm to thescalp.

A hair holding device is thus disclosed which achieves importantpractical advantages. The long downwardly curved tip of the central basemember 11 in conjunction with the slightly upturned tip of upper member13 provide an opening to aid in receiving the hair. The spacedapartconstruction of the arms 16 and 17 of base member 11 and arms 21 and 22of upper member 13 allow uninterrupted evaporation of any moisture inthe hair. The hair holding device allows easy and proper placement inthe hair by using only one hand. There are no sharp prongs or ends topierce and scrape the scalp and it is safe for use in all age groups,including the very young. There are no concentrated pressure pointswhich damage the individual strands of hair and the interaction of themembers provides a gentle, uniform pressure for holding the hair inplace. The undulated shape of base member 11 aids in fixedly positioninghair holding device 10 in the hair so that it will not be accidentallydisplaced.

While the present invention has been described with the preferredembodiment as using a continuous piece for forming the upper and basemembers, individual members may be used and joined in any convenientmanner at end 14, such as by brazing, welding, using a separate clampingmeans, etc. Similarly, arms 16 and 17 of base member 11 and arms 21 and22 of upper member 13 may be separate elements and joined at both ends14 and their free ends, respectively. Also, base member 11 may be asingle strip instead of spaced-part arms.

While the members of the hair holding device are shown as being madefrom flat stock, other cross-sectional members may be used, such ascircular or hexagonal wire.

While I have described a preferred embodiment of the invention, it willbe understood that many variations thereof will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art without departing from the spirit thereof. Thereforeit is intended that the foregoing description may be illustrative onlyand not construed in a limiting sense, the present invention beingdefined solely by the claims granted to me.

What is claimed is:

-1. A hair retaining device comprising a continuous elongated strip ofresilient material bent substantially over itself for providing an uppermember and a base member in generally superposed relationship, saidupper member having a pair of arms enclosing an elongated generallyflattened ellipsoidal area with the free end of said upper member curvedslightly upward, said ellipsoidal area having a width adopted toaccommodate an index finger, said base member having a pair ofspaced-apart arms joined at their free ends to form a downwardlyextending tip for co-acting with the upwardly curved free end of saidupper member to receive the hair to be held, said arms of said basemember being aligned with said ellipsoidal area of said upper member andextending beyond the free end of said upper member, said base memberbeing curved to follow the contour of the head of the user and in itsnormal position having a portion of said base member extending into saidellipsoidal area and beyond the upper surface of the arms of said uppermember, whereby the base member and upper member are separated upon adownward force being exerted on the portion of said base memberextending above said upper member by an index finger.

2. A hair retaining device of light, resilient material comprising anupper member, a lower member, and means for integrally connecting saidmembers in spring-tensioned relationship, said upper member enclosing anelongated, generally flattened ellipsoidal area, one end of said uppermember secured to said connecting means and the other end of said uppermember curved slightly upward, said lower member having a pair ofspaced-apart, undulated arms with one end secured to said connectingmeans and the other end having said arms smoothly joined to form adownwardly extending tip for cooperation with the upwardly curved freeend of said upper arm to receive the hair to be held, said arms of saidlower member aligned with said ellipsoidal area of said upper member andextending beyond the free end of said upper member, said lower memberbeing curved to follow the contour of the head of the user and in thenormal unflexed position having the uppermost portion of said curvedlower member extending beyond the upper surface of said upper member,whereby upon a downward force being exerted on the portion of said lowermember extending above said upper member the upper and lower members areseparated so that said hair retaining device may be actuated with onehand.

3. A hair retaining device of light resilient material comprising anupper member, a lower member, and means for resiliently connecting anadjacent end of each of said members for positioning said members inspring tensioned relationship, said upper member having a pair of armsspaced apart sufficiently to accommodate an index finger, said lowermember being curved to follow the contour of the head of the user andhaving its free and smoothly rounded, said lower member in its normalunflexed position having a portion thereof extending beyond the uppersurface of said upper member, said lower member adapted to be urged awayfrom said upper member by a separating force exerted on the portion ofsaid lower member which extends beyond said upper arms for receivinghair between said members, said hair being clamped between said membersupon removal of said separating force, whereby said hair retainingdevice may be used to clamp hair with one hand.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS956,991 Nathanson May 3, 1910 1,316,981 Singer Sept. 23, 1919 1,422,464Meserole July 11, 1922 2,476,350 Bergen July 19, 1949

1. A HAIR RETAINING DEVICE COMPRISING A CONTINUOUS ELONGATED STRIP OF RESILIENT MATERIAL BENT SUBSTANTIALLY OVER ITSELF FOR PROVIDING AN UPPER MEMBER AND A BASE MEMBER IN GENERALLY SUPERPOSED RELATIONSHIP, SAID UPPER MEMBER HAVING A PAIR OF ARMS ENCLOSING AN ELONGATED GENERALLY FLATTENED ELLIPSOIDAL AREA WITH THE FREE END OF SAID UPPER MEMBER CURVED SLIGHTLY UPWARD, SAID ELLIPSOIDAL AREA HAVING A WIDTH ADOPTED TO ACCOMMODATE AN INDEX FINGER, SAID BASE MEMBER HAVING A PAIR OF SPACED-APART ARMS JOINED AT THEIR FREE ENDS TO FORM A DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING TIP FOR CO-ACTING WITH THE UPWARDLY CURVED FREE END OF SAID UPPER MEMBER TO RECEIVE THE HAIR TO BE HELD, SAID ARMS OF SAID BASE MEMBER BEING ALIGNED WITH SAID ELLIPSOIDAL AREA OF SAID UPPER MEMBER AND EXTENDING BEYOND THE FREE END OF SAID UPPER MEMBER, SAID BASE MEMBER BEING CURVED TO FOLLOW THE CONTOUR OF THE HEAD OF THE USER AND IN ITS NORMAL POSITION HAVING A PORTION OF SAID BASE MEMBER EXTENDING INTO SAID ELLIPOSOIDAL AREA AND BEYOND THE UPPER SURFACE OF THE ARMS OF SAID UPPER MEMBER, WHEREBY THE BASE MEMBER AND UPPER MEMBER ARE SEPARATED UPON A DOWNWARD FORCE BEING EXERTED ON THE PORTION OF SAID BASE MEMBER EXTENDING ABOVE SAID UPPER MEMBER BY AN INDEX FINGER. 